One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
Synonyms of polish in English:
polish
See definition of polish
verb
1‘I polished his shoes’
shine, wax, buff, rub up, rub down
gloss, burnish, brighten, smooth
varnish, oil, glaze, lacquer, enamel, japan, shellac
archaic furbish
2‘it's time to polish up your essay’
perfect, refine, improve, hone, embellish, enhance, put the final touches to, put the finishing touches to
brush up, revise, copy-edit, correct, emend, rewrite, rephrase, rescript, go over, touch up, finish off
informal clean up
noun
1‘shoe polish’
wax, varnish, glaze, lacquer, enamel, japan, shellac
2‘this process achieves a good surface polish’
shine, gloss, lustre, sheen, sparkle, patina, finish, smoothness
3‘he had changed, with all his polish and scholarship’
sophistication, refinement, urbanity, suavity, suaveness, elegance, style, grace, finish, accomplishment, finesse, subtlety, distinction, taste, cultivation, culture, politeness, civility, gentility, breeding, courtesy, courteousness, manners, good manners
informal class
humorous couth
Phrases
1‘he had polished off an apple pie and a strawberry milkshake’
eat up, finish, consume, devour, eat greedily, guzzle, feast on, binge-eat, wolf down, down, bolt
drink up, empty, drain, quaff, gulp, gulp down
binge on, stuff one's face with, stuff oneself with, get outside of, murder, pack away, put away, scoff, scoff down, shovel down, pig oneself on, pig out on, sink, swill, knock back, get one's laughing gear round
shift, gollop, bevvy
scarf, scarf down, scarf up, snarf, snarf down, snarf up, inhale, chug
ingurgitate, bib
2‘a third enemy plane tried to polish him off’
destroy, put an end to, finish off, dispatch, dispose of, do away with, eliminate, kill, liquidate
bump off, knock off, do in, blow away, take out
rub out
3‘I'll polish off the last few pages’
complete, finish, deal with, wrap up, accomplish, execute, discharge, do, get done, fulfil, achieve, attain, end, conclude, close, bring to a close, bring to a conclusion, bring to a end, finalize, stop, cease, terminate, round off, wind up
sew up, have something sewn up